Navy seeks changes to Alameda Point landfill cleanup plan

The Navy wants to change its cleanup plan for a former Naval Air Station landfill. Maps from the Navy’s 2009 cleanup plan for the landfill and its environs.

New information about a former dump at Alameda Point that’s contaminated with radium and a host of other toxic chemicals could prompt changes in the controversial plan to clean it up. But the Navy’s proposed changes would do little to reduce the amount of hazardous waste buried in the dump, which fronts onto San Francisco Bay.

The Navy proposed changes to a 2009 cleanup plan for the dump after learning the portion the former Naval Air Station’s workers used to burn waste is bigger than originally believed. Members of the City Council and a board tasked with overseeing cleanup efforts at the Point had criticized the plan in part because they said the Navy hadn’t yet gathered enough information about toxins at the site, though one board member said the discovery was a good thing.

The Navy is now proposing to excavate and dump all the soil and burnt waste on the site into a steel bulkhead surrounding the thickest portion of the burn area and to cover the entire site with soil. The top foot of any soil contaminated with radioactive materials would be excavated and hauled away.

A public hearing to take comments on the new cleanup proposal will be held on April 9.